War

1564th day. Ukraine struck St. Petersburg with drones for the second time in four days. Zelensky called this a response to Putin’s refusal to negotiate

Since February 24, 2022, Meduza has been broadcasting live about the Russian-Ukrainian war. We publish your letters every day because we are sure that we need to continue talking about the war. Share with us your thoughts about the war. What feelings are you experiencing? How does war affect your life and your attitude towards the world? If you have a story related to the war, tell it . The feedback form is at the end of this article. A review of the previous day can be read here .

Russia

Ukraine carried out a massive drone attack on St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region at night and in the morning. SPIEF ends today in St. Petersburg; This is already the second massive raid on the city in four days of the forum.

The governor of St. Petersburg, Alexander Beglov, called on residents in the morning not to go out - he published such a warning for the first time since the beginning of the war. A few hours later, Beglov reported that the attack had been “repulsed” and that three people had been injured as a result. At the same time, he stated that the air defense “managed to prevent damage.”

The governor of the Leningrad region, Alexander Drozdenko, in turn, said that 144 drones were shot down over the region. Due to a fire “at a Ministry of Defense facility” in the Lomonosov region, more than 600 people were evacuated, four people, including a child, were injured.

Authorities did not specify which facilities were attacked. The Astra Telegram channel analyzed photos and videos of eyewitnesses and came to the conclusion that the targets of the strikes were the Kronstadt Naval Cadet Military Corps, the Marine Thermal Engineering Research Institute, where underwater weapons are created, and the Peterhof oil depot.

During the attack, Kronstadt, a city of 45,000 people located on an island in the Gulf of Finland and connected to the mainland by a bridge, was closed to entry and exit for several hours. The city also canceled the large-scale music and sports festival “Sails of Kronstadt,” which began on Thursday and was supposed to run until Sunday.

In addition to St. Petersburg and the region, Ukrainian drones also attacked other regions of Russia. The Russian Ministry of Defense in its report reported on the destruction of 376 attack drones.

In the Krasnodar Territory, the shock led to a fire at an oil depot in Ust-Labinsk, and authorities evacuated 60 residents of nearby houses. In Smolensk, a drone crashed into a tower crane standing in a residential area. In the Tver region, the driver of a civilian car died due to falling drone debris.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said that the strikes were a response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s reluctance to end the war and begin peace negotiations.

It's time to end this war. But the Russian leader wants to fight. Therefore, Ukrainian sanctions are in force for this aggression. Last night, our drones covered a distance of about 1000 kilometers to the St. Petersburg region - to the arsenals of the enemy Navy and the base in Kronstadt.

Our long-range sanctions also covered about 500 kilometers to the Krasnodar Territory and struck an oil depot. Russia needs to end its war and stop attacks on life. Any manifestations of injustice against Ukraine will receive a fair response.

Zelensky wrote an open letter to Putin the day before yesterday, in which he proposed concluding a truce and holding a meeting in one of the neutral countries. The next day, Putin said that he “doesn’t see any point” in meeting and turned to the Russian military: “Work, brothers.”

War through the eyes of Meduza readers

Diana (London, formerly St. Petersburg). I donated money to Ukraine for the first time when the Russian Federation attacked the Okhmatdyt children's hospital. I remember the disgusting, hypocritical statements of the Russian authorities on this matter. And now it’s Ukraine’s turn. As they now say in Ukraine [about drone strikes on Russian cities], “long-range sanctions”? I don't understand, is this some kind of humor? Then he’s not funny: that’s what my PE teacher joked in the fifth grade, when he handed out slaps on the head and called them “physical remarks,” but in fact he simply beat small children. Likewise, Ukrainian politicians conveniently call their indiscriminate attacks on civilian objects and residential buildings “sanctions.” Sooner or later this will lead to something terrible. Stop this war!

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